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Masino river (Credit: Christian Massari, distributed via imaggeo.egu.eu)

HS Hydrological Sciences Subdivision on Precipitation & climate

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European Geosciences Union

Division on Hydrological Sciences
hs.egu.eu

Subdivision on Precipitation & climate

Chair: Roberto Deidda

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The Precipitation and Climate subdivision covers all research of hydrological relevance into measuring and understanding precipitation and its variability in space and time, as well as research at the interface between hydrology and climate science.

Precipitation is the input to hydrological systems. Quantifying it properly is therefore crucial to our ability to model these systems. Proper quantification means the use of appropriate measurement devices or of reliable models where observations are not available, together with estimates of the uncertainty involved. Our subdivision focusses upon the different methods (raingauges, disdrometers, radars, microwave links, satellites) for estimating observed precipitation at a range of scales (from the fine scales of urban hydrology to the mesoscale range), and the different approaches to modelling or downscaling the precipitation signal in time and in space.

The climate interacts with the hydrological cycle in a number of ways. The study of how changes in the climate impact this cycle, and conversely, how different processes within the cycle influence the climate, is within the remit of this subdivision. But our interest in climate is also broader: it covers research into the impact of the climate-water interaction upon health and upon society.

Topics covered